Button lust part 1

I created this minibook yesterday and did it totally backward from the way I usually create. Normally I start with a subject or photos and go through my stash to find papers and embellies to enhance the photo or tell the story. This time I was straightening up and was tidying these vintage paisley postcards. As they lay scattered on the table, I loved how the patterns enhanced and played against each other so I piled some up so you could see mixtures and quickly punched holes in them with the cropodile and put them together with wire. Then I looked around my studio and saw a package of various metal frames that I had bought at Tuesday Morning a while ago and never used. I pulled out several that worked with different card combos and glued them on. I added the edge paper clips for easy turning. Then I thought about putting buttons on the metal frames and TA DA the whole thing came together - my love for buttons would be my theme. I had taken some photos of my button stash and button items last week so I quickly printed them out and arranged them throughout the book and found buttons to enhance the pages. I went through my big button tin and found several vintage cards of buttons to use and I even added an ATC that I had made for the January Year of Color ATC exchange. Finally I added scrap ribbons on the wires and strung some buttons on embroidery floss to add also. I then did some journaling on the back sides of the postcards.

Blogger would only let me put x-amount of photos in a posting so the remainder of the book can be found in Button lust part 2, the posting just below or before this one.

I have had a busy week with my last watercolor class on Monday - I painted a landscape and will post it maybe tomorrow. Tuesday and Friday I worked at the bookstore and on Wednesday I had to go into the giftshop to take care of some bookkeeping tasks. I went to an informal watercolor class on Thursday and started a painting of a magnolia - I will post it when it is finished. Then on Friday evening I attended a gallery showing for Dawn Mills, a wonderful painter and my teacher these last few months. I had wanted Dan to go with me but as his last treatment was on Friday, he did not feel well enough to go.

Have a great weekend and I will try to post again tomorrow. I am getting some things together to sell on ebay (books and stuff) so I will be very busy dealing with that - and I hope to finish a painting this afternoon and maybe do a layout tonight. AND of course, I want to do this week's Collage Couture class - busy busy busy and having so much fun!!